21 Aug After four weeks being number one at the US box office, "Barbie" was finally dethroned by DC's "Blue Beetle". The Greta Gerwig movie, which has been making bank since its release last month, is now in second place with USD 21.5 million, while the DC superhero movie is now at number one with USD 25.4 million. However, despite being on top, "Blue Bettle" debut is still considered low, seeing that even "The Suicide Squad" debuted at USD 26.2 million back in 2021 despite being a tandem release in cinemas and HBO Max. Globally, it amassed a USD 43 million opening number.
The movie also marks the third DC superhero film that didn't do as well in its opening number, after "Shazam: Fury of the Gods" (USD 30.1 million) and "The Flash" (USD 55 million).
Critics speculated that the low number of turnouts was due to the fact that the film was among the last DC superhero movies that were made before James Gunn and Peter Safran's arrival as the new DC Studios' heads, while others believe that audiences are still not over the superhero fatigue. In "Blue Beetle", Xolo Mariduena plays the role of college graduate Jaime Reyes, who gets chosen to become a symbiotic host to an ancient alien biotech relic that turns him into the superhero known as Blue Beetle. Meanwhile, "Barbie" has now amassed USD 1.279 billion globally.